


baby, i don't care

by teokkityun



Category: TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: 2 truths 1 lie, Extremely Wholesome Tyunnings, First Meetings, Fluff, Inordinate Amounts Of Dumb Tyunning Banter, Kissing, M/M, Meeting At A Party AU, Strangers to Lovers, childhood friends taejun !!!!!, kevin moon & kim sunwoo are in this for like 0.2sec because deobimoa rights, mainly tyunning w/ side soogyu, past onesided taejun, soogyu are hopeless please hold hands sirs, teen and up for mentions of alcohol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 08:50:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20793950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teokkityun/pseuds/teokkityun
Summary: Kang Taehyun doesn't do parties. He doesn't get invited to them, doesn't accept invitations to them, just generally doesn't like them at all.But the boy he meets at Yeonjun hyung's 20th birthday party...? Now that's a different story altogether.





	baby, i don't care

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was inspired by Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber's [ I Don't Care ] !! i hope u enjoy~
> 
> ((special thanks to luna & nat for encouraging me whenever i needed it & screaming at me whenever i sent u previews HEHEHE i luv u))

“Taehyunnie~ Pleeeeeeease?”

“Yeonjunie hyung, no matter how many times you ask, the answer’s still gonna be no.”   
  


“Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?”

“I won’t even know anyone there, hyung.”

“Soobinnie and Beomgyu are coming too. It won’t be nearly as bad as you think, I promise, so… Won’t you come?”

Taehyun sighed. He didn’t want to admit it, but the more Yeonjun begged, the more guilty he felt turning down his childhood friend’s invitation to attend his 20th birthday party. “Hyung… you know I’m not the type to go to parties,” he mumbled, turning his head away from his longtime friend.

But then he felt a tug on his sleeve. When he turned to look, he was met with the sight of Yeonjun giving him the biggest, most heart-melting puppy eyes he’d ever seen in all 17 years of his life. The second Taehyun made eye contact with him, he knew he was doomed.

“Taehyun-ah… Didn’t you once tell me you’d do anything to put a smile on my face? Please, if you come to my 20th birthday party, it’ll make me sooo happy that I’ll never ask you to do anything else for me ever again. I promise,” Yeonjun pleaded, and Taehyun felt his resolve breaking more and more with every word out of the elder’s mouth. He sighed. That was something he’d said years ago, around when he had been 12 and Yeonjun 15, when the elder had gotten so upset over failing a Maths test that he’d ended up crying over it. Taehyun’s heart had ached seeing his best friend so upset over a grade that he’d decided to do everything he could to bring a smile back to his face. Brought him to the nearest convenience store and bought him his favourite ice cream.  _ (Mint chocolate, even then.)  _ Turned on the TV in his living room and put on Yeonjun’s favourite movie.  _ (Aladdin, at the time, even though he kept denying it and saying it was too childish for him. It wasn’t.) _ Even let him cuddle his most treasured kitty plushie.  _ (Cause he didn’t have a real cat yet.) _ And at the end of the day, when Yeonjun asked him why he did so much for him, he’d told him it was because he’d do anything to put a smile on his face.

Taehyun looked into Yeonjun’s eyes again. Warm and sparkly, like pools of the springtime sky. 

_ (The same eyes he’d fallen in love with when he was 14.) _

He sighed deeply. All these years, and Taehyun still couldn’t say no to his best friend.

“Fine,” he relented, earning a whoop of joy from Yeonjun, “I’ll go to your party, hyung.” Yeonjun threw his arms around the shorter boy and left a tiny kiss on his cheek. “Thank you!! I love you, Taehyunnie~” he laughed victoriously. Taehyun huffed out a laugh. Something still felt strange in his chest when he heard those words from the elder’s mouth, even though he’d gotten over his feelings for him a year or so ago. “Love you too, hyung,” he replied. It was natural now, it didn’t feel like a lie anymore. Didn’t feel like he was saying one thing but meaning another, not anymore. And Taehyun revelled in it.

“You won’t regret it!” Yeonjun promised, poking Taehyun’s cheek and grinning excitedly.

~

“Yeah, I’m beginning to regret it.”

“Oh come on, Taehyun. You haven’t even _ left the house _ yet,” Beomgyu’s slightly exasperated voice came from the other end of the line.

“Exactly,” Taehyun replied, running his free hand through his hair. He was sweating, god, at this rate he was going to have to take  _ another  _ shower. “Hyung, I have _ no idea _ what to wear. I don’t go to parties, ugh, this isn’t my thing! God, I should never have given in…”

“Hey, hey, hey, Taehyun. Kang Taehyun! Breathe,” Beomgyu instructed, and Taehyun exhaled slowly. “No use getting distressed about it. It’s just clothes! Soobinnie and I are on our way over now, we’ll help you pick an outfit, okay?” In the background, Taehyun faintly overheard Soobin’s voice calling out, “That’s Soobinnie  _ hyung  _ to you.” Despite his stress, he huffed out a laugh. “Yes please,” he sighed, “You’re a pair of lifesavers, you know that?”

“Oh, we know,” two voices responded in sync, followed by an “Ooh!” and the sound of a high-five. Taehyun snickered. “I’ll see you in ten?” he asked. “We’ll make it there in five,” Beomgyu replied, smile audible in his voice. “See you soon, Taehyunnie!” Soobin called, before they hung up.

Taehyun turned back to his wardrobe, but stopped short, his gaze catching on his reflection in the mirror. He paused to look at what he was wearing. A plain white t-shirt, and a pair of bright blue, pineapple-patterned surfer shorts. Why was he wearing bright blue surfer shorts? Scratch that, why did he  _ own  _ bright blue surfer shorts? He tugged at them - they were a little too short, a little too tight, something he’d probably bought a few years ago and then completely forgotten about, left buried deep inside his closet. He sighed and put his head in his hands. He wasn’t usually this much of a fashion disaster, but when it came to thinking about having to look good at a party… 

The sound of Soobin’s car pulling up beside the house made Taehyun exhale in relief. God, what would he do without Soobin and Beomgyu? A car door slammed shut, and a second later, a voice yelled out, “KANG TAEHYUN, WE’VE ARRIVED TO SAVE THE DAY!” He burst out laughing. Beomgyu’s energy was contagious, and he hadn’t even stepped into the house yet.

As soon as Taehyun opened the door, Soobin and Beomgyu took one look at him and snorted. At the same time. 

“Please,” he sighed, “help me.”

“Can I take a picture first?” Beomgyu asked, lips curving into a playful grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look like this much of a fashion disaster before.” Taehyun smacked his arm, earning a laugh from Soobin, and he tried to act like the tips of his ears weren’t turning red from embarrassment. “Absolutely not.”

Eventually, after much pulling apart of Taehyun’s wardrobe and many outfit changes, the three of them collectively decided on Taehyun’s look for the evening. A translucent white bomber jacket pulled over a simple long-sleeved black graphic tee and a pair of white jeans. Simple, but charismatic. “Just like you,” Soobin teased as the three of them walked out of the house and hopped into his car. Taehyun decided to take it as a compliment. 

It was just past 8:35pm when they finally reached Yeonjun's place, and the second Taehyun stepped out of the car, he began to feel the regret tugging at his stomach again. The noisy music blasting inside the house was audible from outside. Colourful lights were flashing through a bedroom window, people were yelling excitedly, and multiple beer bottles lay empty on the front lawn. God, this was  _ so _ not his thing, why,  _ why _ couldn't he just have said NO to Yeonjun for once in his life? 

Beomgyu walked with a skip in his step, clearly excited to be there, and Soobin trailed just behind him, as if the shorter blonde boy was his anchor in such a blaringly social situation. The trio had barely reached the doorstep when the door was flung open roughly, and Soobin jumped up in surprise, a small yelp leaving his mouth. "Soobinnie, Beomgyu! Taehyunnie!! You made it!" Yeonjun greeted, a huge lopsided grin on his face. His clothes smelled of alcohol and his cheeks were flushed, but he looked so happy that Taehyun couldn't even bring himself to scold him for drinking so much.

Yeonjun flung himself onto Beomgyu, then Soobin, then finally Taehyun, enveloping them each in warm, tight hugs. So tight, in fact, that Taehyun found that he was struggling to breathe. “H-hyung,” he coughed out, trying and failing to pry Yeonjun’s arms open, “That’s a little-”

“Hyungie!” came an unfamiliar voice from the entrance, “Loosen up, I think you’re strangling him.”

“Ah~!” As soon as Yeonjun loosened his grip, Taehyun sucked in a sharp breath of air. He didn’t recognise the voice of the person who’d rescued him from his hyung’s death grip, but his curiosity was definitely piqued when he saw Beomgyu’s eyes light up in recognition. “Huening Kai! You made it too!” the blonde gasped excitedly.

When Taehyun turned back towards the doorway, he saw a tall, somewhat lanky boy dressed in a black-and-white striped button-up and a pair of black jeans, leaning his chin on Yeonjun’s shoulder and reaching his arms around his torso to pat his belly. As strange as it seemed, Yeonjun appeared to be entirely unfazed by it - almost as if belly-patting was a typical occurrence with the other boy. 

“Hey hyung,” the boy greeted Beomgyu, squeezing his eyes shut briefly in a childish grin. Even with the lack of light in their surroundings, his eyes glittered with energy, and Taehyun found himself wanting inexplicably to stare into them, to map out the patterns in which they sparkled. There was something strangely alluring about this boy and his boxy smile. But he blinked, and he reminded himself that he didn’t even know him.

_ (Yet.) _

“Soobin-ah, Taehyun!” Yeonjun called for their attention, and Taehyun realised with a start that he’d been staring at the striped-shirt boy without even meaning to. He turned his attention back to Yeonjun and pretended he couldn’t see the tall boy staring back at him over Yeonjun’s shoulder. Pretended he couldn’t feel the back of his neck heating up slightly. Yeonjun gestured over his shoulder and introduced, “This is Huening Kai. He works at the same music shop as me and Beomgyu.” The older reached over his shoulder and ruffled the other boy’s hair fondly. “Hueningie, say hi~ Soobin and Taehyun don’t bite, I promise.”

“Hi,” Huening Kai greeted, voice suddenly much smaller than it had been earlier, and Beomgyu cooed like an older sibling watching his baby brother say his first few words. “Aah, Hueningie is so cute!” the blonde teased, and the taller boy immediately tried to hide his face in Yeonjun’s shoulder. ( _ Cute… like a puppy. _ ) Soobin waved good-naturedly - the tallest of them all, he’d always had a soft spot for cute things, and Huening Kai seemed to fall under the category of cute things that he took a natural inclination towards. “I’m Soobin,” he introduced with a smile, before turning to look at Taehyun expectantly. Just as Taehyun opened his mouth to introduce himself, Huening Kai lifted his eyes from where he’d buried his face in Yeonjun’s shoulder and peered at Taehyun, eyes open wide. He looked like a meerkat, and Taehyun marvelled at how such a tall boy was able to make himself seem so tiny. “Hi,” Taehyun greeted, “I’m Soobin.” Then he blinked. “Wait-”

Beomgyu burst out laughing, and Taehyun had never wanted to throw a chair at his friend more in all his years of living. 

“Taehyun!” he blurted, waving his hands around rapidly as he corrected himself, all three of his hyungs very unhelpfully giggling at him and simply watching with glee as the usually-composed youngest of the four made a total fool of himself. “I’m Taehyun! Kang Taehyun.” Huening Kai grinned at him, lifting one hand to cover his mouth in amusement, and Taehyun felt like he wanted to disintegrate on the spot. Great job, Taehyun. Way to make a first impression.

“Come on in,” Yeonjun laughed, “Soobin, you’re drinking or else. Birthday boy’s orders!” The eldest ignored the surprised sounds of protest Soobin made, insisting that his tolerance was far too low to drink anything, and simply turned around and skipped out of Huening Kai’s arms and into the house. 

Taehyun trailed after Soobin and Beomgyu, cautiously stepping into the house that was - by his standards - far too loud, far too rowdy, and far too full of tipsy people. Ever the social butterfly, it seemed as if Yeonjun had invited about three busloads worth of people to come celebrate his birthday. Taehyun knew he loved the attention, knew his best friend always thrived in environments where he was surrounded by other people. On the other hand, Taehyun had always been the quieter of the pair, choosing to stick with just a small handful of close friends. He felt drastically out of his element at Yeonjun’s party - and as he’d expected, Yeonjun was too busy talking to everyone else to keep him company. Someone bumped roughly into his left shoulder and he ended up stumbling into another stranger, but instead of checking whether he was okay, the stranger simply laughed and shoved a red cup of clear liquid into his hand. “S’sprite,” the stranger laughed, before turning away again. Taehyun sniffed it and grimaced. Sure didn’t  _ smell _ like sprite. He put the cup down on the nearest counter and began looking around - he’d lost sight of Soobin and Beomgyu, and he didn’t quite like the idea of being alone at this party.

He spotted the pair standing in a corner, Soobin holding a red cup and Beomgyu holding a blue one. Soobin was looking around too - probably searching for Taehyun in the crowd - whereas Beomgyu seemed strangely occupied staring into his cup. Taehyun was about to make his way over to them when he noticed Beomgyu fidgeting nervously with his cup, and something about it made him pause. He watched as Beomgyu shifted his cup into his left hand, freeing his right, and slowly, tentatively, reached across to where Soobin’s left hand was dangling freely by his side. His hand was just centimetres away from Soobin’s when the taller boy turned around to ask him something, and before Taehyun could even blink, the blonde had already pulled his hand away. 

“Ah,” Taehyun whispered to himself. Perhaps he would be doing them a favour by leaving them alone. Silently, he sent Beomgyu a wish of good luck before turning around and heading for the kitchen instead. 

The kitchen was just slightly emptier than the rest of the house. There was a trio of girls giggling and feeding each other grapes in one corner, a girl sobbing into a boy’s shoulder on the floor, and a very tipsy-looking redhead leaning against a seemingly sober boy with mousy-brown hair, snuggling his head into the crook of the brunette’s neck. The brown haired boy chuckled softly, affectionately carding a hand through the redhead’s hair and leaving a gentle kiss on his forehead that made the redhead giggle. Taehyun wasn’t sure whether to feel envious or awkward. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled to the brunette, “I uh- need to take something from the fridge behind you. If you don’t mind…” 

“Ah! Sorry, let me just- Sunwoo, c’mon, he needs to take something,” he nudged the redhead gently. “Noooo, Kev’n hyung… Don’wnna moooooove,” the redhead groaned, snuggling even closer to him. The brunette laughed and smiled sheepishly at Taehyun, slightly embarrassed, but then took a deep breath and dragged himself and the redhead a few steps away from the refrigerator so Taehyun could open it. Hastily, Taehyun nodded his thanks, opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of juice, then turned around and grabbed a random pack of chips from off the counter. He grimaced to himself. Even in the kitchen, the music was too loud, the smell of alcohol too strong, and the number of drunk people around him too many. He had to get away from it all, but he knew he couldn’t leave without hurting Yeonjun’s feelings.

There was only one place he knew he could go.

Juice carton in one hand and chips in the other, Taehyun made his way up to the third floor of the house - as he’d expected, no one had come up this far, either out of respect for privacy or due to sheer inability to climb stairs when inebriated. Either way, Taehyun counted it as a win for himself.

He stopped in front of the most familiar door in the house. The door that had a big decorative wooden “L” hanging on it, for everyone who walked past to see. 

_ “But your name doesn’t start with L, hyung. Why L?” _

_ “L stands for Legend, Taehyunnie. So whenever someone walks past my room, they’ll look at the letter L and remember, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Legend Yeonjun’s room.’” _

_ “Doesn’t L also stand for Loser?” _

_ “HAH, not in my dictionary. There’s a dozen other things L could stand for! Light, Laughter, Lovely…” _

_ “...ve.” _

_ “Huh? What was that, Taehyunnie? I didn’t catch-” _

_ “I didn’t say anything. Loser.” _

_ “Oi!” _

Love.

He still remembered it like it was yesterday. Some things he just couldn’t forget, even if he tried to. But it was okay now. It didn’t hurt so much. Not anymore.

Slowly, he pushed open the door to Yeonjun’s room. 

Taehyun flicked a wall switch and warm light flooded the room, making him squint, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the lighting. Yeonjun’s room hadn’t changed much over the years he’d known him, simply acquiring more notes and books and a bigger bed over time. Taehyun tossed his juice and chips onto the bed, ready to clamber onto it and settle down, but he paused beside one of the bookshelves in the room. There was a familiar photo frame lying on it, dusty and untouched, but in otherwise perfect condition. It held an old photo of the two of them, aged 9 and 12, on the beach, a tiny Yeonjun carrying an even tinier Taehyun on his back, smiles lighting up their faces like they knew of no evil in the world. Like the rest of the world didn’t matter as long as they had each other. 

“Best friends forever,” Taehyun read, voice barely more than a whisper, as he traced his finger over the words that were scribbled across the photo in a child’s messy handwriting.

Perhaps Taehyun’s proudest achievement, and at the same time his biggest regret, was that over all the years he’d known Yeonjun, nothing about that had changed. 

“Oh! I- uh- I’m sorry, I didn’t realise there was anyone else here.”

Taehyun nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of another voice. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” the person gasped, guilt flooding his voice upon seeing Taehyun’s reaction. “It’s okay, not your fault,” Taehyun replied hastily, turning to face whoever had just unintentionally scared about 15 years off his life.

“Oh! …Taehyun?”

Taehyun blinked in recognition. “Huening Kai?” he asked, “What are you doing up here?”

The taller boy laughed awkwardly and tugged on the sleeves of his shirt, adjusting them though there was no need to. “It was too loud downstairs… Parties aren’t really my thing,” he admitted, “I only agreed to come cause Yeonjun hyung and Beomgyu hyung wouldn’t stop pestering me about it. I get awkward pretty easily around people I don’t know, and I can’t even drink yet anyway… Ah, Yeonjun hyung said I could go upstairs and sit in his room if I wanted to go somewhere quieter, but I didn’t mean to disturb you, so I’ll just-”

“Wait, you can’t drink? How old are you?” Taehyun asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Huening Kai looked up in surprise from where he’d been staring at the floor, and Taehyun realised for the second time that night that the other boy really had a beautiful pair of eyes. “I’m 17,” he said with a sheepish grin, “I’ve been told I’m pretty tall for my age.” 

“Oh! I’m 17 too,” Taehyun replied, gesturing between the two of them. “Really?” Huening Kai asked, his surprise showing clearly on his face, “I thought you were at least around 19.”

Taehyun raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I look old?”

“NO! No, no no no no that’s not what I-”

“Pft-” Taehyun burst into giggles at the panicked look on the other boy’s face and the way he had begun waving his arms around frantically as he spoke. Huening Kai paused to stare at him for a second, and then suddenly they were laughing together, both of them tickled by the sheer silliness of the situation. “I’m joking,” Taehyun giggled, “But I guess now that makes us even.” 

“I guess it does,” Huening Kai replied, and in that moment, the grin on the taller boy’s face did something to Taehyun’s heart that made him decide to do something unusually courageous.

_ (No more regrets.) _

“You said you get awkward easily around strangers?”

“Hm? Oh. Yeah. I do.”

“Okay then,” he said, tilting his head playfully, lips curving into a smile, “Let’s not be strangers anymore.”

His satisfaction upon seeing the other boy’s flustered reaction was enough to counter the effects of his own rapid heartbeat. “Wha- heh- huh?” Huening Kai asked through flustered laughter, “What do you mean?” Taehyun plopped himself onto Yeonjun’s bed and patted the space across from him, inviting the other boy to sit down. “Let’s get to know each other. Know how to play 2 truths 1 lie?” The taller boy paused for a second, but then he nodded, gingerly plopping himself down across from Taehyun. “What’s the forfeit?” 

Taehyun tilted his head, “Forfeit?” Huening Kai grinned, cheeks still lightly flushed, but Taehyun pretended he didn’t notice. “That’s how the game goes, isn’t it? If we can’t guess the lie correctly, we have to do a forfeit.”

“…What version of this game have you been playing?”

“The fun version.”

“Are you saying I’m not fun?”

“I’m saying… you’d be  _ extra _ fun if you agreed to doing a forfeit.” There was a playful glint in Huening Kai’s eyes. “Don’t be scared, Taehyun. Whatever the forfeit is, you only have to do it if you guess wrong, so just don’t guess wrong. Easy.”

Taehyun laughed. “Oh, you’re confident.”

“Come on,” Huening Kai egged, shoving Taehyun’s knee, “Do you wanna be strangers or not?”

“Fine,” Taehyun relented, “Since we’re both underage - whoever guesses the wrong answer has to take a sip of this guava juice.” He lifted the small carton and shook it around, making a show of it. Huening Kai pouted. “But that’s lame,” he complained. “Not if you think of it as an indirect kiss,” Taehyun said, and then immediately regretted it. As Huening Kai laughed in surprise, Taehyun dropped the carton and hid his burning face in his hands. “Noooooo, I can’t believe I said that,” Taehyun mumbled, voice muffled behind his hands. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Huening Kai reassured, voice gentler than before, and Taehyun became aware of the presence of a warm weight on his wrists, two hands on his, pulling them away from his face. “I like it.” 

Taehyun decided that maybe it was worth it to embarrass himself like that again, if it meant he’d get to see him smile like that more often.

“You go first,” he said, trying not to let his disappointment show when the taller boy pulled his hands away. Huening Kai thought for a second, then with decisiveness, he said, “Okay. One: I’m an only child. Two: I can play the piano. Three: my favourite colour is green.” Taehyun pursed his lips for a moment, considering the possibilities.

“I’m gonna guess… you can’t play the piano?”

Huening Kai gasped. “I’ll have you know that I am Beethoven’s  _ protege _ ,” he proclaimed, putting a hand on his chest in mock offence, making Taehyun laugh guiltily. “Right, I forgot you work a music shop… So which is the real lie?” he asked, eyes sparkling with mirth, “Is your favourite colour yellow or something?”

“No! Man, you’re terrible at this game,” Huening Kai said with a chuckle, already picking up the juice carton and holding it out for Taehyun to drink. “I have two sisters - one older and one younger.” Taehyun grabbed the carton and took a swig of sweet pink juice, a flare of competitiveness lighting up his eyes. “Alright, my turn,” he said, “One: I have a pet cat. Two: I like to sing. Three: my favourite ice cream flavour is mint chocolate.”

Huening Kai narrowed his eyes, thinking hard. “You have a pet hamster?” he finally asked. Taehyun grinned and shoved the juice carton into his hands. “Guess I’m not the only one who’s bad at this game,” he teased. Huening Kai scrunched up his nose as he took the carton from Taehyun. 

“Which one was the lie?”

“I prefer my ice cream when it doesn’t taste like toothpaste, thank you.”

Huening Kai gasped, the juice carton a few centimetres away from his mouth. “I’m  _ not _ indirect kissing someone with bad taste in ice cream.” Taehyun giggled, “Oh no, you agreed to this, you know. You  _ insisted _ . You can’t back out now, regardless of whether or not  _ you _ have bad taste in ice cream.” The taller boy glared at him, but there was no malice in it. “Fine,” he said, before taking a sip of the juice, “But mint chocolate is still the best flavour out there.”

“Toothpaste.”

“I’ll fight you.”

“You and what army?”

“Me and Yeonjun hyung.”

Taehyun laughed. Everything came so easily with this boy. They’d only just met, yet it felt like he’d already known him for years; he’d thought that kind of person was something you only found in fiction, too good to be real. Something about him made Taehyun feel drawn towards him, made him feel at home in his presence. “Sure,” he said, “Just so you know, I have both Beomgyu hyung and Soobin hyung on my side.”

“Okay, okay. My turn,” Huening Kai said, and Taehyun pretended he didn’t notice how the boy had changed the subject.

The game went on for a few more rounds, and as it turned out, they were both terrible at it, constantly guessing the wrong statement as the lie. To be fair, Taehyun thought it was ridiculous that anyone could even attempt to fit 15 stuffed toys onto one bed, much less together with the body sleeping on it, and Huening Kai thought that Taehyun looked more like a James than a Terry. 

Both boys had forgotten why they had come to the house in the first place, why they had ended up in a room alone on the third floor, far enough away from the noise of the party going on beneath them and distracted enough by their company to forget about everything else. Every smile, every laugh, every fact shared and lie revealed felt like something special, something that existed only in those moments, just for the two of them and no one else. Something about it felt magical, surreal, and it made Taehyun want to spill his truest secrets into the space between them, so sure that they would be kept safe, so sure that they would fill the emptiness between them and bring the two of them just that little bit closer.

“Okay,” Taehyun said, “One: I can speak Japanese. Two: My least favourite artist is Justin Bieber. Three-”

He paused. The words were sitting there, on the tip of his tongue, just barely hanging in there. Aching to spill out. Words he had only spoken to two other people before in his life. Words he had never yet spoken to his own family, words he probably never would. 

Words he wanted Huening Kai to hear. 

“…Three: I had a crush on my best friend for three years of my life.”

Huening Kai paused. Paused for longer than the previous rounds, and even though the look on his face was simply thoughtful and contemplative, Taehyun could feel tendrils of fear begin to snake around his stomach. But he did his best to ignore them, and focused instead on the way Huening Kai tapped his pretty fingers against his cheeks when he was deep in thought.

“You’ve never had a crush before?” he finally asked, voice gentle. Taehyun laughed breathily. 

“Guess again.”

“Wow…” Huening Kai chuckled, a hint of awe in his tone, “Three years?”

“…Maybe even longer,” Taehyun admitted, and it was the first time he’d said those words aloud, even to himself, “I think I just didn’t realise that it was love at the time.”

“You’ve been friends since childhood?”

“Yeah,” Taehyun breathed, fond, bittersweet memories bubbling to the surface of his mind as he just let the words spill out of his lips, “When I was 9, he made me promise him that the two of us would stay together forever, no matter what. Best friends forever.” He reached up and ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly, not noticing the way the other boy’s eyes followed the small motion. “I kept his promise,” he laughed softly. 

“…Yeonjun hyung sure means a lot to you, doesn’t he?”

Taehyun’s head whipped up, surprise written across his features, clear as day. His mouth fell open as he spluttered, “How- how did you know? That it was-”

Huening Kai smiled softly, and Taehyun could feel his cheeks heating up. “I saw you looking at that,” the taller boy said, nodding his head in the direction of the photo frame on the bookshelf, “when I walked in.”

“Oh…”

“Hey,” Huening Kai said, gently reaching out to take hold of Taehyun’s wrist again, “It’s safe with me.” Taehyun turned away from the bookshelf to see those beautiful eyes staring right back into his, full of light, and warmth, and assurance, and something else that Taehyun couldn’t quite decipher. It was something that looked strangely akin to hope.

“…You’re safe with me.”

It made him feel like he’d just taken a blow to the chest.

“…Yeah. I know.”

Huening Kai smiled and pulled his hand away, and this time Taehyun had to physically stop himself from moving to take hold of his hand again. He turned away, trying to will the blush away from his cheeks, and turning his attention to anything and everything inside the room that wasn’t the boy sitting across from him.

“Oh.”

Taehyun blinked. “Hm?”

Huening Kai lifted the juice carton and shook it around. “It’s empty.”

“Oh,” Taehyun realised, “I must have drank the last of it just now… What should we do about the forfeit then? Just scrap it and continue?”

Huening Kai was silent for a long while, not looking at Taehyun. The boy was thinking hard about something, Taehyun could tell - he’d come to notice signs that the gears were turning in the other boy’s head over the course of the game. His fingers would fidget, playing with each other, or tapping mindlessly against any surface, or tugging at a random article of clothing. His lips would press together, forming a line. He’d stare at something, at anything, and to anyone else it might look like he was scrutinising it, taking in every tiny detail of it, but the reality was that he wasn’t actually seeing whatever it was at all.

Taehyun wondered at the back of his mind how he’d come to notice so much about him in so little time. 

“Hueningie?”

“Let’s change the forfeit.”

He’d spoken so quietly that Taehyun wasn’t sure he’d heard him right. “Huh?” The younger boy lifted his head, meeting Taehyun’s eyes. “You said drinking from the same juice carton counts as an indirect kiss, right?” Taehyun nodded. 

_ (Where was he going with this?) _

“Then-” Huening Kai cleared his throat, eyes darting away, suddenly unable to maintain eye contact, a rosy pink shade beginning to blossom onto his cheeks, “Then let’s change it. From now on… Whoever guesses wrong has to give the other person a  _ real _ kiss.”

Before Taehyun could even splutter, the taller boy added hurriedly, “NOT- NOT NECESSARILY ON THE LIPS!! It doesn’t have to be on the lips!! Like- like a kiss on the hand works, or on the cheek, or on the nose, y’know…” He gestured vaguely, trying to distract Taehyun from the fact that his cheeks were now glowing bright pink. “No, you know what, never mind, it was a weird idea-” Huening Kai rambled, letting his bangs fall over his eyes, visibly embarrassed, “Let’s just forget about it, we can just-”

“I don’t mind,” Taehyun interrupted. His voice was small, but the way Huening Kai lifted his head to look at him with his eyes wide told him he’d been heard loud and clear. “You don’t mind?” he repeated, as if he couldn’t quite trust his own ears, and Taehyun nodded. “O-okay then,” Huening Kai said, and he cleared his throat, trying to regain some composure. Hesitantly, he shifted closer to Taehyun, until their knees were just centimetres apart, and took hold of the shorter boy’s hand. He lifted Taehyun’s hand to his lips, and ever so gently, he left a kiss on the back of it.

It was only when Huening Kai lifted his head to look at him again that Taehyun realised that at some point, he’d forgotten to keep breathing.

Shakily, he drew in a breath and giggled. Why was his heart beating so fast? It was just a kiss on the back of his hand. Nothing special. Just a dare. Just a forfeit. It didn’t have to mean anything.

_ (But the look of hope in Huening Kai’s eyes made him want to believe that maybe it did.) _

“Your turn,” Taehyun prompted, and his heart leapt a little when this time, Huening Kai didn’t let go of his hand. “Okay,” the taller boy said, “One: I’m very flexible. Two: I can scream like a dolphin. Three…”

“…Three?”

“Three…” Huening Kai tightened his grip on Taehyun’s hand, ever so slightly. He looked up and flashed a grin, nervous and hopeful and so,  _ so _ endearing. “I think I might have a thing for cute boys who are a little shorter than me and have a really pretty laugh and brown hair that looks really soft and who make me drink guava juice and reveal dumb facts about myself just cause they don’t wanna be strangers anymore.”

If Taehyun forgot permanently how to breathe that night, he decided he wouldn’t be the one at fault. 

“That’s oddly specific,” he laughed breathily.

“That’s not an answer.”

“I think… maybe you have a thing for boys who are taller than you.”

“You know,” the other boy laughed, “If you wanna kiss me so badly, you could just ask.”

Taehyun laughed cheekily, ignoring the blush he could feel painting his cheeks, and lifted his free hand, placing it on the other boy’s shoulder. He felt Huening Kai’s breath hitch as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against the boy’s cheek. When he pulled away, the other boy turned his head just slightly to look at him, eyes wide and lips just slightly parted, curved up at the corners in an awe-filled smile. Taehyun had to resist the urge to lean in and kiss his cheeks again. 

_ (God, you’re  _ so _ cute.) _

“You think I’m cute?”

“Did- did I say that out loud?”

“No, no, I read your mind.”

Taehyun whacked his shoulder. “Shut up, that’s a lie,” he complained, cheeks reddening, “And no, I don’t think you’re cute. Cause you’re not. Not cute at all.”

“Now  _ that’s _ a lie,” Huening Kai said, a smile beginning to stretch across his cheeks.

“And so what if it is? What are you gonna do about it, kiss me?” 

The words were out of Taehyun’s mouth before he could even think about what he was saying. A brief silence fell between the two of them, and in those few seconds, Taehyun wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up beneath him and swallow him whole. Until Huening Kai lifted his hand and placed it gently on his jaw, his touch feather-light and warm, and Taehyun felt like if he so much as let out a breath of air, whatever spell had fallen over them might break. 

“I don’t mind,” the taller boy murmured.

Then Huening Kai leaned closer, and the few seconds it took to close the distance between them felt more like centuries. Taehyun felt like he couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything at all as the other boy leaned in and left a soft, gentle kiss just barely to the right of his lips. Right on the edge of Taehyun’s lips. Nearly a kiss but not quite, everything and nothing, more than he could have hoped for and yet not enough - all at the same time. When Huening Kai pulled away, Taehyun could still feel the ghost of his kiss on the edge of his lips, like static electricity left dancing on the surface of his skin. The two of them stopped and stared at each other, eyes wide and cheeks ablaze, matching looks of mingled excitement and disbelief on their faces.

And then suddenly they were both giggling, laughing so much they had to hold onto each other for support. “Oh my god,” Huening Kai said through giggles, “I can’t believe I just did that.” Taehyun grinned and in one swift motion, flung his arms around the taller boy and tackled him onto the bed, relishing in the beautiful sound of his laughter. “Hey,” Taehyun said, smiling down at Huening Kai as the other boy looped his arms easily around his waist, “I’ve got a question for you.”

“Hmm?” Huening Kai’s eyes were so bright, they rivaled the stars in the sky.

“What if we were more than just not strangers?”

“I’m gonna need you to elaborate.”

Taehyun buried his head in Huening Kai’s shoulder. “Don’t make me say it,” he whined, “I can only handle so much embarrassment in one night.” Huening Kai laughed. “What’s that?” he teased, “You just wanna be friends?” 

“What I’m trying to say is…” Taehyun said, keeping his head hidden against the taller boy’s shoulder to hide his embarrassment, voice muffled slightly by the cloth of his shirt, “…Go on a date with me?” 

Taehyun felt fingers carding gently through the hair at the back of his head and he looked up to see the other boy smiling at him with such pure fondness in his eyes that it took his breath away. “I’d love to,” Huening Kai replied, “It’s not every day that you meet someone you feel like you’ve already known for years at a party you didn’t really wanna go to in the first place.”

Taehyun giggled. “You know, when I walked in, I really thought I was going to regret tonight.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“But you know what…? I don’t think I regret a single thing.”

“You know what? Me neither.”

  
  
And at the end of the night, when Taehyun and Huening Kai walked down the stairs together hand in hand to find Soobin and Beomgyu asleep and cuddling on the couch, a tangle of limbs with their fingers finally  _ (finally) _ interlocked, next to a proudly smiling Yeonjun, Taehyun decided that maybe, just maybe… parties weren’t the worst things in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> comments & kudos are very much appreciated!!!  
or hmu on twitter @tyunningprint anytime to cry over tyunning TvT


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